What a glorious night in Irish sporting history. With victories against Tri Nations teams such rarities, this was a night to savour. The Wallabies were relatively gracious in defeat, not that it really mattered. They had quite a tough night, not only did they have to contend with boisterous Irish, they also had the whole of New Zealand cheering on the boys in green. Many in the ground were Kiwis wearing their All Blacks jerseys with green hats and scarves, which was particularly noticeable every time Aussie outhalf Quade Cooper touched the ball. Born in New Zealand, but moved to Australia as a child, the locals are unforgiving, and the chorus of boos for him was particularly loud at the start of the match.
A shower met us on the way to the stadium, but did not appear to have any effect on the supporters. With transportation troubles on the opening night, we took no chances, and went to the stadium at 6, with kick off at half 8. The nearby bars were thronged and long queues, but we managed to slip in past a barrier, and nestled inside, managed to watch the South Africa game, while all the Kiwis were praising Ireland and informing us we would beat the Aussies and play them in the final.
Our seats were in a good spot, top tier behind the posts where Ireland was attacking in the first half. Surviving the smell at the urinal was a feat in itself, and then we settled down to what was a tense first half. The noise inside was deafening, and the chants of Ole Ole picked up as the second half wore on. The last 20 minutes were nerve wrecking, particularly when the try was disallowed. When the final whistle went it was pure elation, and no-one could hear O’Driscoll’s interview on the pitch afterwards with the fans celebrations. The train back into town was entertaining, Irish fans singing, the Kiwi’s ripping into the Australians with barbed comments, while they just had to grin and bear it. One aggrieved fan made some comment about National Debt, which didn’t help his cause!
The city centre was packed, but we managed to find a bar where the queue was manageable, and enjoyed a great night for Irish rugby. It was good to see the local papers take pleasure in our victory
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